Yutu-2 - Misplaced Pages

(Redirected from Yutu 2) Chinese lunar rover

*Yutu-2*
Spacecraft properties
Yutu-2 rover on the Moon as seen by the Chang'e 4 lander

Mission type	lunar rover
Operator	CNSA
Mission duration	3 months (planned) Current: 2177 days


Launch mass	Rover: 140 kg
Landing mass	140 kg
Dimensions	1.5 × 1.0 × 1.0 m


Start of mission
Launch date	7 December 2018, 18:23 UTC
Rocket	Long March 3B
Launch site	Xichang Satellite Launch Center


Lunar rover
Landing date	3 January 2019, 02:26 UTC
Landing site	Von Kármán crater in the South Pole-Aitken Basin
Distance driven	1.596 km (0.992 mi) as of 4 May 2024

Chinese Lunar Exploration Program rovers← YutuYidong Xiangji →

Yutu-2 (Chinese: 玉兔二号; pinyin: Yùtù Èrhào) is the robotic lunar rover component of CNSA's Chang'e 4 mission to the Moon, launched on 7 December 2018 18:23 UTC, it entered lunar orbit on 12 December 2018 before making the first soft landing on the far side of the Moon on 3 January 2019. Yutu-2 is currently operational as the longest-lived lunar rover after it eclipsed (on 20 November 2019) the previous lunar longevity record of 321 Earth days held by Soviet Union's Lunokhod 1 rover. Yutu-2 is the first lunar rover ever to have traversed the far side of the Moon. By January 2022, it had travelled a distance of more than 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) along the Moon's surface. Data from its ground penetrating radar (GPR) has been used by scientists to put together imagery of multiple layers deep beneath the surface of the far side of the Moon. As of September 2024, the Yutu-2 was still active.

Overview

The total landing mass is 1,200 kg (2,600 lb). Both the stationary lander and Yutu-2 rover (literally: "Jade Rabbit") are equipped with a radioisotope heater unit (RHU) to maintain their subsystems during the long lunar nights, while electrical power is generated by solar panels.

After landing, the lander extended a ramp to deploy the Yutu-2 rover to the lunar surface. The rover measures 1.5 × 1.0 × 1.0 m (4.9 × 3.3 × 3.3 ft) with a mass of 140 kg (310 lb), and is propelled by six wheels. Yutu-2 was manufactured in Dongguan, Guangdong province. The rover is an improvement of the first Yutu rover from 2013; while its nominal operating time is three months, Chinese mission engineers hoped it would operate for "a few years", extending beyond its original planned mission.

The landing craft touched down at 02:26 UTC on 3 January 2019, becoming the first spacecraft to land on the far side of the Moon, and the rover deployed about 12 hours later.

Science payloads

Panoramic Camera (PCAM), is installed on the rover's mast and can rotate 360°. It has a spectral range of 420 nm–700 nm and it acquires 3D images by binocular stereovision.
Lunar penetrating radar (LPR), is a ground penetrating radar with a probing depth of approximately 30 m with 30 cm vertical resolution, and more than 100 m with 10 m vertical resolution.
Visible and Near-Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (VNIS), for imaging spectroscopy that can then be used for identification of surface materials and atmospheric trace gases. The spectral range covers visible to near-infrared wavelengths (450 nm – 950 nm).
Advanced Small Analyzer for Neutrals (ASAN), is an energetic neutral atom analyzer provided by the Swedish Institute of Space Physics (IRF). It will reveal how solar wind interacts with the lunar surface, which may help determine the process behind the formation of lunar water.

Cost

According to Wu Yanhua, the deputy director of the project, the cost of the entire mission was "close to building one kilometer of subway", which can vary from 500 million yuan (about 72.6 million U.S. dollars) to 1.2 billion yuan (about 172.4 million dollars).

Landing site

The landing site is within the Von Kármán crater (180 km or 110 mi diameter) in the South Pole-Aitken Basin on the far side of the Moon, which was previously unexplored by landers. The site has symbolic as well as scientific value: Theodore von Kármán was the PhD advisor of Qian Xuesen, the founder of the Chinese space program.

Operations and results

The first panorama from the far side of the moon

A day after landing, Yutu-2 went into hibernation for its first lunar night and it resumed activities on 10 January 2019, with all instruments operating nominally. During its first full lunar day, the rover travelled 120 m (390 ft), and on 11 February 2019 it powered down for its second lunar night. In May 2019, it was reported that Chang'e 4 has identified what appear to be mantle rocks on the surface, its primary objective.

In November 2019, Yutu 2 broke the lunar longevity record previously held by the Soviet Union's Lunokhod 1 rover which operated on the lunar surface for eleven lunar days (321 Earth days).

In February 2020, Chinese astronomers reported, for the first time, a high-resolution image of a lunar ejecta sequence, and, as well, direct analysis of its internal architecture. These were based on observations made by the rover's Lunar Penetrating Radar (LPR).

Data from its two-channel ground penetrating radar (GPR) has constructed an image of multiple layers beneath the surface to a depth of 300 meters.

Gel-like Substance

In September 2019, the Yutu-2 rover found a mysterious, unusual "gel-like" substance on the lunar surface inside a small crater in the central region of the Von Kármán crater on the south pole of the far side of the moon. Further analysis found that the substance resembled rock melted by a lunar impact. Thus, the research indicates that the bright, green material is, in fact, rock that was melted by the heat generated by a meteorite impact on the Moon.

Mystery Hut

In December 2021, the rover pictured what appeared to be a particularly prominent boulder, dubbed the "Mystery Hut" (神秘小屋), or "Moon Cube", which it was intended to explore in the following lunar days (earth months). On 7 January 2022, news reported that the rover reached the "Mystery Hut" after traveling for a month, and found it to be "irregularly shaped rock"; resembling a rabbit, with a smaller nearby rock like a carrot, making a fitting discovery for the Yutu (Jade Rabbit).

The routing path of the Yutu-2 rover.

References

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^ Chang'e 3, 4 (CE 3, 4) Archived 20 March 2018 at the Wayback Machine. Gunter Dirk Krebs, Gunter's Space Page.
^ This is the rover China will send to the 'dark side' of the Moon Archived 31 August 2018 at the Wayback Machine. Steven Jiang, CNN News. 16 August 2018.
"CNSA". China National Space Administration (in Chinese (China)). Archived from the original on 10 December 2018. Retrieved 8 December 2018.
Launch Schedule 2018 Archived 16 August 2018 at the Wayback Machine. SpaceflightNow, 18 September 2018.
Barbosa, Rui (3 January 2019). "China lands Chang'e-4 mission on the far side of the Moon". Nasaspacefight. Archived from the original on 3 January 2019. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
"中国探月工程立项20年回顾"嫦娥"奔月之旅" (in Simplified Chinese). 央视新闻. 2024-05-04. Retrieved 2024-05-05.
^ David, Leonard (18 December 2019). "China's Farside Moon Rover Breaks Lunar Longevity Record". Space.com.
"Moon 'mystery hut' is just a rabbit-shaped rock, Chinese rover finds". Space.com. 11 January 2022. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
"China's lunar rover Yutu 2 is on a mission to investigate mystery object on far side of the moon". 2021-12-05.
^ "China's Yutu 2 rover reveals deep layers below far side of the moon". Space.com. 2023-08-24.
Jones, Andrew (2024-09-19). "China's Yutu 2 rover still going strong after nearly 6 years on the far side of the moon". Space.com. Retrieved 2024-10-20.
^ China Shoots for the Moon's Far Side. (PDF) IEEE.org. 2018.
Xu, Luyuan (15 June 2018). "How China's lunar relay satellite arrived in its final orbit". The Planetary Society. Archived from the original on 17 October 2018.
China's Chang'e 4 spacecraft to try historic landing on far side of Moon 'between January 1 and 3' Archived 2 January 2019 at the Wayback Machine. South China Morning Post. 31 December 2018.
^ The scientific objectives and payloads of Chang'E−4 mission. (PDF) Yingzhuo Jia, Yongliao Zou, Jinsong Ping, Changbin Xue, Jun Yan, Yuanming Ning. Planetary and Space Science. 21 February 2018. doi:10.1016/j.pss.2018.02.011
Andrew Jones (16 May 2016). "Sweden joins China's historic mission to land on the far side of the Moon in 2018". GBTimes. Archived from the original on 6 October 2018. Retrieved 12 January 2018.
China's latest Moon mission costs about as much as building 1 km of subway – Headlines, features, photo and videos from ecns.cn|china|news|chinanews|ecns|cns
China's Journey to the Lunar Far Side: A Missed Opportunity? Paul D. Spudis, Air & Space Smithsonian. 14 June 2017.
Ye, Peijian; Sun, Zezhou; Zhang, He; Li, Fei (2017). "An overview of the mission and technical characteristics of Change'4 Lunar Probe". Science China Technological Sciences. 60 (5): 658. Bibcode:2017ScChE..60..658Y. doi:10.1007/s11431-016-9034-6. S2CID 126303995.
"China Plans First Ever Landing on the Lunar Far Side". Space Daily. 22 May 2015. Archived from the original on 26 May 2015. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
"Hsue-Shen Tsien". Mathematics Genealogy Project. Archived from the original on 9 December 2018. Retrieved 7 December 2018.
Jones, Andrew (11 February 2019). "Chang'e-4 powers down for second lunar night". SpaceNews. Retrieved 1 August 2019.
Caraiman, Vadim Ioan (11 February 2019). "Chinese Lunar Probe, Chang'e-4, Goes Standby Mode For The Second Lunar Night on The Dark Side of The Moon". Great Lakes Ledger. Retrieved 1 August 2019.
Ouyang, Ziyuan; Zhang, Hongbo; Su, Yan; Wen, Weibin; Shu, Rong; Chen, Wangli; Zhang, Xiaoxia; Tan, Xu; Xu, Rui (May 2019). "Chang'E-4 initial spectroscopic identification of lunar far-side mantle-derived materials". Nature. 569 (7756): 378–382. Bibcode:2019Natur.569..378L. doi:10.1038/s41586-019-1189-0. ISSN 1476-4687. PMID 31092939. S2CID 205571018.
Strickland, Ashley (2019-05-15). "Chinese mission uncovers secrets on the far side of the moon". CNN. Retrieved 2019-05-16.
Rincon, Paul (15 May 2019). "Chang'e-4: Chinese rover 'confirms' Moon crater theory". BBC News. Retrieved 1 August 2019.
Howell, Elizabeth (December 19, 2016). "Lunokhod 1: 1st Successful Lunar Rover", Space.com. Retrieved May 31, 2018.
Chang, Kenneth (26 February 2020). "China's Rover Finds Layers of Surprise Under Moon's Far Side – The Chang'e-4 mission, the first to land on the lunar far side, is demonstrating the promise and peril of using ground-penetrating radar in planetary science". The New York Times. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
Li, Chunlai; et al. (26 February 2020). "The Moon's farside shallow subsurface structure unveiled by Chang'E-4 Lunar Penetrating Radar". Science Advances. 6 (9): eaay6898. Bibcode:2020SciA....6.6898L. doi:10.1126/sciadv.aay6898. PMC 7043921. PMID 32133404.
Andrew Jones (2019-09-03). "China's Lunar Rover Just Found Something Weird on the Far Side of the Moon". livescience.com. Retrieved 2021-12-08.
Rabie, Passant (2020-07-11). "Scientists finally figured out what that gel-like stuff is on the Moon". Inverse. Retrieved 2024-07-12.
Shannon Stirone (8 December 2021). "Moon Cube and Mysteries of the Solar System". The New York Times. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
Kelvey, Jon (8 December 2021). "Look: Chinese Rover Spots a "Moon Cube," and Opens a New Lunar Mystery - While almost certainly a boulder or two, the enigmatic Moon Cube is nevertheless fascinating, and could help scientist understand how to live on the Moon". Inverse. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
Jones, Andrew (5 December 2021). "China's Yutu 2 rover spots cube-shaped 'mystery hut' on far side of the moon". Space.com. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
Kooser, Amanda (5 December 2021). "China moon rover will investigate cube-shaped 'mystery' object on lunar far side - Is that a boulder? Or something else?". CNET. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
Dvorsky, George (7 January 2022). "'Mysterious Hut' Spotted on Far Side of the Moon Is a Huge Disappointment - It took China's Yutu 2 rover a full month to reach its underwhelming destination". Gizmodo. Retrieved 7 January 2022.
Chang, Kenneth (7 January 2022). "Moon Cube Mystery: Chinese Rover Finds It's Just a Rock - A blurry image thatJChina's space program had called the "mystery hut" was a result of camera angle, light and shadow". The New York Times. Retrieved 7 January 2022.

External links

Lunar rovers

Active

Yutu-2 (2019–present, on Chang'e 4)

Past

Lunokhod	Lunokhod 0 (1A) (1969) Lunokhod 1 (1970–1971, on Luna 17) Lunokhod 2 (1973, on Luna 21)
Apollo	Lunar Roving Vehicle (1971, Apollo 15) LRV-2 (1972, Apollo 16) LRV-3 (1972, Apollo 17)
CLEP	Yutu (2013–2016, on Chang'e 3) Yidong Xiangji (2024, on Chang'e 6)
Chandrayaan	Pragyan (2019, on Chandrayaan-2) Pragyan (2023, on Chandrayaan-3)
Rashid	Rashid (2022–2023, on Hakuto-R Mission 1)
CLPS	Iris (2024, on Peregrine Mission One) Colmena × 5 (2024, on Peregrine Mission One)
JAXA	Sora-Q (2022–2023, on Hakuto-R Mission 1) LEV-1 (2024, on SLIM) LEV-2 (Sora-Q) (2024, on SLIM)

Planned

Proposed

Cancelled

Missions are ordered by launch date. Sign indicates failure en route or before intended mission data returned.

Spacecraft missions to the Moon

Exploration
programs

American
- Apollo
- Artemis
- CLPS
- Lunar Orbiter
- Lunar Precursor
- Pioneer
- Ranger
- Surveyor
Chinese
- Chang'e
Indian
- Chandrayaan
Japanese
- Japanese Lunar Exploration Program
South Korean
- Danuri
Russian
- Luna-Glob
Soviet
- Crewed
- Luna
- Lunokhod
- Zond

Active
missions

Orbiters	ARTEMIS CAPSTONE Chandrayaan-2 Orbiter Chang'e 5-T1 (service module) Danuri Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Queqiao 1 (relay satellite at L₂) 2 Tiandu-1 2 ICUBE-Q
Landers	Chang'e 3 4 SLIM
Rovers	Yutu-2
Flybys	ArgoMoon

Past
missions

Crewed landings	Apollo 11 12 14 15 16 17 (List of Apollo astronauts)
Orbiters	Apollo 8 10 Apollo Lunar Module Artemis I Chang'e 1 2 5 Chandrayaan-1 Chandrayaan-3 (propulsion module) Clementine Explorer 35 49 GRAIL Hiten LADEE Longjiang-2 Luna 10 11 12 14 19 22 Lunar Orbiter 1 2 3 4 5 Lunar Prospector PFS-1 PFS-2 SMART-1 SELENE (Kaguya, Okina, Ouna)
Impactors	LCROSS Luna 2 Moon Impact Probe Ranger 4 6 7 8 9
Landers	Apollo Lunar Module ×6 Chang'e 5 6 Luna 9 13 16 17 20 21 23 24 Surveyor 1 3 5 6 7 Vikram (Chandrayaan-3) EagleCam IM-1
Rovers	Lunar Roving Vehicle Apollo 15 16 17 Lunokhod 1 2 Yutu Pragyan (Chandrayaan-2) (Chandrayaan-3) LEV-1 LEV-2 (Sora-Q) Jinchan
Sample return	Apollo 11 12 14 15 16 17 Luna 16 20 24 Chang'e 5 6
Failed landings	Beresheet Emirates Lunar Mission Hakuto-R M1 Luna 5 7 8 15 18 25 OMOTENASHI Surveyor 2 4 Vikram (Chandrayaan-2) Peregrine Mission One
Flybys	4M Apollo 13 Chang'e 5-T1 Geotail Galileo ICE Longjiang-1 Luna 1 3 4 6 LunaH-Map Lunar Flashlight Lunar IceCube LunIR Mariner 10 NEA Scout Nozomi Pioneer 4 Ranger 5 STEREO TESS WMAP Wind Zond 3 5 6 7 8 PAS-22

Planned
missions

Artemis	Artemis II (2025) Lunar Gateway Artemis III (2026) Artemis IV (2028) Artemis V (2030) Artemis VI (2031) Artemis VII (2032) Artemis VIII (2033)
CLPS	Firefly Aerospace Blue Ghost (2024) IM-2 (2025) Lunar Trailblazer
Luna-Glob	Luna 26 (2027) Luna 27 (2028) Luna 28 (2030) Luna 29 (2030s) Luna 30 (2030s) Luna 31 (2030s)
CLEP	Chang'e 7 (2026) Chang'e 8 (2028)
Chandrayaan	Chandrayaan-4 (2027) Chandrayaan-5 (LUPEX) (2028)
Others	Hakuto-R M2 (2024) Beresheet 2 (2025) ispace M3 (2026) Lunar Pathfinder (2026) DESTINY (2028) Cislunar Explorers (2020s) CU-E (2020s) MoonRanger (2020s) Argonaut M1 (2031) International Lunar Research Station (2030s)

Proposed
missions

Robotic	ALINA Artemis-7 Blue Moon BOLAS Garatéa-L ISOCHRON LunaNet Lunar Crater Radio Telescope McCandless Moon Diver
Crewed	DSE-Alpha Boeing Lunar Lander Lockheed Martin Lunar Lander Lunar Orbital Station

Cancelled /
concepts

Missions are ordered by launch date. Crewed missions are in italics.

v t e Chinese Lunar Exploration Program
China National Space Administration Chinese space program
Missions	Chang'e 1 (Oct 2007) Chang'e 2 (Oct 2010) Chang'e 3 (Dec 2013) Yutu rover Chang'e 5-T1 (Oct 2014) Queqiao (relay satellite, May 2018) Chang'e 4 (Dec 2018) Yutu-2 rover Chang'e 5 (Nov 2020) Queqiao 2 (relay satellite, Mar 2024) Tiandu 1 and 2 Chang'e 6 (May 2024) Chang'e 7 (2026) Chang'e 8 (2028)
Launch vehicles	Long March 3A Long March 3B Long March 3C Long March 5 Long March 8
Facilities	Xichang Satellite Launch Center Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site
People	Zhang Qingwei Ouyang Ziyuan Ma Xingrui Ye Peijian
Category Commons

v t e Chinese spacecraft
Earth observation	Double Star (joint with ESA) Fengyun Gaofen FSW Huanjing HY Jilin Shiyan SMMS TanSat Tansuo Tianhui Yaogan Ziyuan
Communication and engineering	Dong Fang Hong FH-1 Apstar APMT Asiasat ChinaSat ChinaStar HKSTG LGSP OlympicSat Qianfan Shijian Sinosat Tiantong 1 Tsinghua-1 Xiwang 1
Data relay satellite system	Queqiao and Queqiao 2 Tiandu 1 and 2 Tianlian Constellation
Satellite navigation system	BeiDou-1 BeiDou-2 Beidou-3
Astronomical observation	ASO-S CHASE DAMPE GECAM HXMT Kuafu Longjiang-2 Queqiao Lobster Eye Imager for Astronomy Einstein Probe (joint with ESA) SST SVOM Xuntian SMILE
Lunar exploration	Chinese Lunar Exploration Program Chang'e 1 Chang'e 2 Chang'e 3 Yutu Chang'e 5-T1 Chang'e 4 Yutu-2 Chang'e 5 Chang'e 6 Chang'e 7 Chang'e 8
Planetary exploration	Yinghuo-1 Chang'e 2 Tianwen-1 Zhurong Shensuo Tianwen-2 Tianwen-3 Tianwen-4
Microsatellites	Fengniao Xinyan
Future spacecraft in italics.

Chinese space program

Spaceports and landing sites	Jiuquan Taiyuan Wenchang Xichang Siziwang Banner (landing site)
Launch vehicles	Long March 1 Long March 2 Long March 3 Long March 3A Long March 3B Long March 3C Long March 4 Long March 4A Long March 4B Long March 4C Long March 5 Long March 6 Long March 7 Long March 8 Long March 9 (In development) Long March 10 (In development) Long March 11 Long March 12 Kuaizhou Kaituozhe
Exploration programs	Shuguang (cancelled) CMS (human spaceflight) Chang'e (lunar exploration) Tiangong (space station) Tianwen (interplanetary exploration)

Projects and missions

Science

Planetary science	Chang'e 1 (2007–09) Chang'e 2 (2010–present) Yinghuo 1† (2011) Chang'e 3 (2013–present) Chang'e 5-T1 (2014–present) Yutu rover (2013–2016) Chang'e 4 (2018–present) Yutu-2 rover (2018–present) Tianwen-1 (2020–present) Chang'e 5 (2020–present) Zhurong rover (2021–present) Chang'e 6 (2024) Tianwen-2 (2025) Chang'e 7 (2026) Chang'e 8 (2028) Tianwen-3 (2028) Tianwen-4 (2029)
Astronomy and cosmology	DAMPE (2015–present) HXMT (2017–present) GECAM (2020–present) CHASE (2021–present) ASO-S (2022–present) Einstein Probe (2024–present) SVOM (2024–present) Xuntian (2026) Space Solar Telescope
Earth observation	CSES (2018–present) Double Star (2003–07) Gaofen Series (2013–present) Haiyang Series (2002–present) TanSat (2016–present) Yaogan Series (2006–present) Ziyuan Series (CBERS) (1999–present) SMILE (2025)

Human
spaceflight

Uncrewed expeditions	Shenzhou 1 Shenzhou 2 Shenzhou 3 Shenzhou 4 Shenzhou 8
Crewed expeditions	Shenzhou 5 Shenzhou 6 Shenzhou 7 Shenzhou 9 Shenzhou 10 Shenzhou 11 Shenzhou 12 Shenzhou 13 Shenzhou 14 Shenzhou 15 Shenzhou 16 Shenzhou 17 Shenzhou 18 (List of Chinese astronauts)
Space laboratories and cargos	Tiangong 1 (2011–2018) Tiangong 2 (2016–2019) Tianzhou 1 (2017) Tianzhou 2 (2021) Tianzhou 3 (2021) Tianzhou 4 (2022) Tianzhou 5 (2022) Tianzhou 6 (2023)
Tiangong space station modules	Tianhe (2021–present) Wentian (2022–present) Mengtian (2022–present)

Navigation

BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS)

Telecommunications

Apstar Series (1994–present)
Chinasat Series (1994–present)
Queqiao (2018–present)
Tiandu 1 and 2 (2024–present)
Tianlian I (2008–present)
Tianlian II (2019–present)
Qianfan (2024–present)
Queqiao 2 (2024–present)

Technology
demonstrators

Chinese reusable experimental spacecraft (2020)
FSW Program (1969–2006)
QUESS (2016–present)
Shijian Series (1971–present)
XPNAV 1 (2016–present)

Lanyue Lunar Lander

Future missions marked in italics. Failed missions marked with † sign

21st-century space probes

Active space probes
(deep space missions)

Sun	Parker Solar Probe Solar Orbiter Aditya-L1
Moon	ARTEMIS CAPSTONE Chandrayaan-2 Chang'e 3 Chang'e 4 (Yutu-2 rover) Chang'e 5 Danuri Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Queqiao Queqiao 2 Tiandu 1 and 2 Chang'e 6 ICUBE-Q
Mars	Emirates Mars Mission ExoMars TGO Mars Express 2001 Mars Odyssey MAVEN MRO MSL Curiosity rover Tianwen-1 Mars 2020 Perseverance rover
Other planets	BepiColombo Mercury Akatsuki Venus Juno Jupiter Juice Jupiter Europa Clipper Jupiter
Minor planets	Chang'e 2 Hayabusa2 / MINERVA-II Lucy New Horizons OSIRIS-REx Hera Psyche
Interstellar space	Voyager 1 Voyager 2

Completed after 2000
(by termination date)

2000s	2001 NEAR Shoemaker Deep Space 1 2003 Pioneer 10 Galileo Nozomi 2004 Genesis 2005 Huygens 2006 Mars Global Surveyor 2008 Phoenix 2009 Chang'e 1 Ulysses Chandrayaan-1 SELENE LCROSS
2010s	2010 Hayabusa MER Spirit rover 2011 Stardust 2012 GRAIL 2013 Deep Impact 2014 LADEE Venus Express Chang'e 5-T1 2015 MESSENGER PROCYON IKAROS 2016 Rosetta / Philae Yutu rover ExoMars Schiaparelli 2017 LISA Pathfinder Cassini 2018 MASCOT Dawn Longjiang-1 2019 MarCO MER Opportunity rover Beresheet Longjiang-2 Chandrayaan-2 / Pragyan rover
2020s	2020 Chang'e 5 2022 Double Asteroid Redirection Test Mangalyaan InSight 2023 Hakuto-R Mission 1 Luna 25 Chandrayaan-3 / Pragyan rover Zhurong rover 2024 Peregrine Mission One Ingenuity helicopter SLIM IM-1

v t e ← 2017 Orbital launches in 2018 2019 →
January	USA-280 / Zuma BeiDou-3 M7, BeiDou-3 M8 Cartosat-2F, ICEYE-X1, Microsat-TD, Arkyd-6A, Carbonite-2, Flock-3p' × 4, Fox-1D, Landmapper BC 3 v2, Lemur-2 × 4, PicSat, SpaceBEE × 4 USA-281 / Topaz-5 Jilin-1 Video-07, Jilin-1 Video-08, Kepler 0 KIPP USA-282 / SBIRS-GEO-4 Humanity Star, Dove Pioneer, Lemur-2 × 2 Yaogan 30-04 (3 satellites) SES-14, Al Yah 3 GovSat-1 / SES-16
February	Kanopus-V No. 3, No. 4, S-Net × 4 , Lemur-2 × 4 CSES, ÑuSat 4, 5 TRICOM-1R Falcon Heavy test flight (Tesla Roadster) BeiDou-3 M3, M4 Progress MS-08 Paz, Tintin A & B IGS-Optical 6
March	GOES-17 Hispasat 30W-6 O3b × 4 (FM13 to FM16) Soyuz MS-08 GSAT-6A EMKA / Kosmos 2525 BeiDou-3 M9, M10 Iridium NEXT 41–50 Gaofen-1-02, 03, 04
April	Dragon CRS-14, 1KUNS-PF, Irazú, UBAKUSAT Superbird-B3, HYLAS-4 Yaogan 31A, 31B, 31C, Weina 1B IRNSS-1I AFSPC-11, EAGLE Blagovest-12L / Kosmos 2526 TESS Sentinel-3B Zhuhai-1 × 5
May	Apstar 6C InSight, MarCO A, MarCO B Gaofen 5 Bangabandhu-1 Chang'e 4 Relay, Longjiang 1, Longjiang 2 Cygnus CRS OA-9E (EnduroSat One, EQUiSat, Lemur-2 × 4, RaInCube) Iridium NEXT 51–55, GRACE-FO 1, GRACE-FO 2
June	Gaofen-6 SES-12 Fengyun-2H Soyuz MS-09 IGS-Radar 6 GLONASS-M 756 / Kosmos 2527 XJSS A, B Dragon CRS-15 (Biarri-Squad × 3, BHUTAN-1, Maya-1, UiTMSAT-1)
July	PRSS-1, PakTES-1A BeiDou IGSO-7 Progress MS-09 Telstar 19V Galileo FOC 19–22 Iridium NEXT 56–65 BeiDou-3 M5, M6 Gaofen 11
August	Telkom-4 / Merah Putih Parker Solar Probe ADM-Aeolus BeiDou-3 M11, BeiDou-3 M12
September	HY-1C Telstar 18V ICESat-2 — SSTL S1-4, NovaSAR-1 BeiDou-3 M13, M14 Kounotori 7 Azerspace-2 / Intelsat 38, Horizons-3e CentiSpace-1-S1
October	SAOCOM 1A Yaogan 32A, 32B Soyuz MS-10 BeiDou-3 M15, M16 AEHF-4 BepiColombo HY 2B Lotos-S1 No. 3 / Kosmos 2528 Weilai-1 CFOSAT GOSAT-2, KhalifaSat, Diwata-2B, Stars-AO, AUTcube2
November	BeiDou-3 G1Q Kosmos 2529 / GLONASS-M 757 MetOp-C IRVINE01, Lemur-2 × 2 GSAT-29 Es'hail 2 Progress MS-10 Cygnus NG-10 BeiDou-3 M17, BeiDou-3 M18 Shiyan 6-01 Mohammed VI-B HySIS, Blacksky Global 1, FACSAT-1, Flock-3r × 16, Kepler 1 CASE, Lemur-2 × 4 Kosmos 2530 / Strela-3M 16, Kosmos 2531 / Strela-3M 17, Kosmos 2532 / Strela-3M 18
December	Soyuz MS-11 SHERPA, Blacksky Global 2, Capella 1, ESEO, Eu:CROPIS, FalconSAT 6, ICEYE X2, SkySat 14, SkySat 15, STPSat 5, ENOCH, Flock-3s × 3, IRVINE02, Landmapper BC 4, MinXSS-2, Orbital Reflector, PW-Sat 2, SpaceBEE × 3 GSAT-11, GEO-KOMPSAT 2A SpaceX CRS-16 (TechEdSat 8, UNITE) Chang'e 4 (Yutu-2) CubeSail, RSat-P, STF-1 GSAT-7A CSO-1 Kosmos 2533 / Blagovest-13L USA-289 / GPS IIIA-01 Kanopus-V No. 5, No. 6, Flock-3k × 12, Lemur-2 × 8, Lume-1 Yunhai-2 01 (6 satellites)
Launches are separated by dots ( • ), payloads by commas ( , ), multiple names for the same satellite by slashes ( / ). Crewed flights are underlined. Launch failures are marked with the † sign. Payloads deployed from other spacecraft are (enclosed in parentheses).

v t e 2018 in space
« 2017 2019 »
Space probe launches	TESS (lunar flyby; Apr 2018) Queqiao (mission to the Moon; May 2018) InSight / Mars Cube One (mission to Mars; May 2018) Parker Solar Probe (solar space mission; Aug 2018) BepiColombo (mission to Mercury; Oct 2018) Chang'e 4 / Yutu-2 (mission to the Moon; Dec 2018)
Impact events	2018 LA Kamchatka meteor
Selected NEOs	Asteroid close approaches 2010 WC9 2017 VR12 2017 YE5 2017 YZ1 2018 AH 2018 BD 2018 BF3 2018 CB 2018 CC (276033) 2002 AJ129 (505657) 2014 SR339 2018 CF2 2018 CL 2018 CN2 2018 CY2 2018 DV1 2018 GE3 2018 PD20 2018 LF16 2018 WV1 (163899) 2003 SD220
Exoplanets	Gliese 1132 c possible exomoon Kepler-1625b I K2-141b K2-146b K2-148b K2-155d K2-229b K2-239b K2-239c K2-239d K2-288Bb Barnard's Star b (refuted in 2021) EPIC 211945201 b HD 89345 b KELT-21b NGTS-3Ab
Discoveries	LSPM J0207+3331 VVV-WIT-07 MACS J1149 Lensed Star 1 10 moons of Jupiter 541132 Leleākūhonua (announced) Hyperion proto-supercluster 2MASS J18082002−5104378 Farout (2018 VG18) FarFarOut (2018 AG37 first imaged) AT2018hyz SN 2018cow
Novae	V357 Muscae (Nova Muscae) V906 Carinae (Nova Carinae) V392 Persei (Nova Persei)
Comets	C/2017 T1 (Heinze) C/2017 U7 C/2018 C2 (Lemmon) 37P/Forbes 66P/du Toit 64P/Swift–Gehrels 38P/Stephan–Oterma C/2018 F4 (PanSTARRS) C/2018 V1 (Machholz-Fujikawa-Iwamoto) 46P/Wirtanen
Space exploration	Hayabusa2 (asteroid Ryugu arrival; Jun 2018) Kepler retirement (Oct 2018) InSight (Mars landing; Oct 2018) Dawn retirement (Nov 2018) OSIRIS-REx (asteroid Bennu arrival; Dec 2018) Voyager 2 (enters interstellar space; Dec 2018) New Horizons (encounter with 486958 Arrokoth; Dec 2018 / Jan 2019)
Outer space portal 2017 in outer space — 2018 in outer space — 2019 in outer space

v t e 2019 in space
« 2018 2020 »
Space probe launches	Beresheet (lunar lander; Feb 2019) LightSail 2 (solar sail demonstration; Jun 2019) Chandrayaan-2 / Vikram / Pragyan (lunar obiter, lander and rover; Jul 2019)
Impact events	Kamchatka meteor (announced) 2019 MO
Selected NEOs	Asteroid close approaches 2018 XB4 2019 AS5 2016 AZ8 66391 Moshup 2019 OK 1620 Geographos 2006 QV89 2100 Ra-Shalom 2019 SU3 2019 TA7 2019 UN13
Exoplanets	AD Leonis b Beta Pictoris c DS Tucanae b Gliese 251 c Gliese 357 d Gliese 588 b c Gliese 687 c Gliese 555 b Gliese 754 b Gliese 784 b HR 5183 b Kepler-47d confirmed K2-288Bb L 1159-16 b c d LP 816-60 b LTT 1445 Ab Luyten's Star d e PDS 70c Proxima Centauri c Struve 2398 Bb Bc Tau Ceti i (hypothesized) Teegarden's Star b c V1298 Tauri b c d e Wolf 359 b c
Discoveries	2019 AQ3 ASASSN-19bt AT2019qiz GRB 190114C EPIC 204376071 GW190412 GW190521g (first-ever light from bh-bh merger) GW190814 (first-ever "mass-gap" collision) J043947.08+163415.7 K2-18b water vapor M87* imaged PSR J0030+0451 mapped PSR J0740+6620 S5-HVS1 2I/Borisov 20 moons of Saturn WD 0145+234 detection of exoasteroid disruption WD J0914+1914
Comets	C/2018 Y1 (Iwamoto) 78P/Gehrels 168P/Hergenrother 163P/NEAT 138P/Shoemaker–Levy 171P/Spahr 289P/Blanpain
Space exploration	New Horizons (encounter with 486958 Arrokoth; Dec 2018 / Jan 2019) Chang'e 4 / Yutu-2 (landing on the far side of the Moon; Jan 2019) Opportunity (end of mission; Aug 2018 / Feb 2019) Hayabusa2 (departure from 162173 Ryugu; Dec 2019)
Outer space portal Category:2018 in outer space — Category:2019 in outer space — Category:2020 in outer space

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